case study assignment (Auditing, group assignment)

The background of our company’s pp is shown in ppt. Please read the ppt carefully cuz the ppt include all the info.

A company that I choose:
Code: ORI
Company: Orica Ltd
Sector: Materials

As shown in the pdf, the overview, and business risks part is not my part, but based on this (which I uploaded), you should write the additional possible key audit Matter, conclusion, and reflection parts. (Page 8 in ppt)

1
Professional Partners target the ASX 200
Background
Your firm Professional Partners (PP) is a mid-sized accounting practice with about 350 staff
and offices in Perth and Melbourne. PP has specialised in small- and mid-capitalisation firms
operating in the extractive industries, including companies searching for minable deposits,
companies engaging in mining, and companies providing associated services (such as
geological and engineering consultants, mining software services, health and safety services
etc.). PP has built a very successful practice but revenue growth has been low in the past three
years. At a recent partners meeting it was agreed that in order to restart growth, PP needs to
target bigger firms. In anticipation of attracting larger firms with international operations, PP
has already identified firms that it believes could undertake work on its behalf in Indonesia
(The Jakarta Partnership), Brazil (Contadores Extraordinários), and South Africa (Dlamini,
Nkosi, and Ndlovu Partners). In order to progress this ambition, teams are being formed across
the practice to perform an initial assessment of prospective targets.
Each team is required to submit to the partners a report on their target, including an assessment
of business risks, inherent risks additional to those identified by the incumbent auditor and an
overall recommendation as to the suitability of the firm as an audit client (further details are
provided in the Deliverables section below).
The partners are very particular about presentation: the practice document style is 12-point
Times New Roman, with the default Microsoft Word margins (2.54cm top, bottom, left and
right), single line spacing, referencing using APA 7 and no appendices (apart from a reference
list).
2
• the assignment cover page;
• the group sections (overview, business risks, conclusion and references);
• their own individual sections (inherent risk, reflection)
Tips
The main tip is to read the rubric! In previous semesters (where the assignment was similar)
many students submitted work that didn’t reflect what we were looking for in the various
sections. You should review the rubric in detail BEFORE you begin. In addition to the more
technical aspects of the business and risk analysis, there were three areas which could have
been substantially improved: the linkage of KAMs, conclusion and reflection.
The linkage of KAMs – it is not enough to simply state a new issue in your individual
discussion of a KAM. You need to link the KAM to an issue you have identified in the
overview of the business and/or the business risks section. Therefore your discussion of the
KAM should begin with explaining how this audit risk might arise from what you know
about the business. The idea is to replicate a real audit, where the auditor will think carefully
about the operations of their client in order to identify potential audit risks.
The conclusion – Many students seemed to leave the conclusion section to the last minute and
gave some vague response. Consequently, they didn’t give any consideration to the
commercial aspects of the assignment. After the analysis, you should give a clear
recommendation as to whether Amazing Auditors should continue to pursue the audit of your
firm and give sensible reasons as to why / why not.
The reflection– most students scored moderate but not outstanding results in this section,
primarily because they did not obtain feedback from other people during the assignment. You
may be familiar with writing reflection pieces after the fact, but the problem with this is that it
is too late. The idea with the reflections section is that you are clear on a model of teamwork
before you begin, and then use this model to improve the team’s performance whilst doing
the assignment. In other words, to score well in this section you need to be both giving and
receiving feedback during the process, not when it is all over! Therefore at your first planning
meeting you should consider how you will fulfill this aspect of the assignment as well as the
technical content.
3
Deliverables (Key: *=group section; ^=individual
section)
Section Details Length
Group
marks
Individual
marks
Overview*
Provide brief overview of the selected firm, including such items as key operations, competitors and
industry characteristics. Also state (but no need to explain in detail) the Key Audit Matters identified
in the most recent Audit Report.
1 page 3
marks –
Business
Risks*
Based on the information provided in section 1, identify and discuss the three (3) most important
business risks faced by the firm. 1 page
3
marks –
Additional
possible
Key Audit
Matters^
Based on your work in sections 1 and 2, each group member should identify one additional matter
that could have been a Key Audit Matter but was not an actual KAM (each group member must have
a different KAM). For the matter, state:
1. Why the matter is significant. Your response should provide a narrative explanation as well
as refer to account balances, relevant notes to the account and applicable accounting
standards; and
2. How the matter could be addressed in the audit. Your response should include reference to
relevant preventative and/or detective internal controls, specific audit tests that could be
undertaken, the nature of these test (i.e. tests of control, analytical review and tests of detail)
and applicable Auditing Standards.
1 page –
7
marks
Conclusion*
With reference to the previous elements of your report (both group and individual), provide an
overall conclusion as to the suitability of the company as a future audit client. 1 page
3
marks –
Reflection^
Each group member must reflect on their role in the team’s performance with reference to the extent
to which they and the team followed each of Brownlee’s 5 Tactics to Encourage Healthy Team
Collaboration (from The Essentials of Team Collaboration), namely developing ground rules,
building relationships, identifying preferred communication modes, collaborating online via
technology and taking periodic temperature checks.
1 page –
3
marks
References* References (i.e. for the Overview and Risks sections) following the APA 7 style. As needed 1 mark
4
Total
Your total mark will be out of 20,
i.e. half for your group performance and half for your individual performance
10
marks
10
marks
Marking Rubric
Section Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
Overview
Elements of pass
grade are not
fulfilled
• Includes clear summary of as
key operations, competitors and
industry characteristics.
• Keeps to page limit and is free
from typographical and
grammatical errors
• Pass elements;
• Includes discussion of
future outlook as well as
past operations;
• Paragraphs have clear
topic sentences.
• Credit elements;
• At least one external
source utilised in
addition to Annual
Report used to provide
a critical assessment of
the entity that goes
beyond information
provided in the Annual
Report
• Distinction elements;
• A variety of sources
used to provide a
critical assessment of
the entity that goes
beyond information
provided in the Annual
Report
Business
Risks
Elements of pass
grade are not
fulfilled
• Business risks are appropriately
specified given information
provided in the Annual Report.
• Keeps to page limit and is free
from typographical and
grammatical errors.
• Pass elements;
• Business risks reflect
future outlook as well as
past operations.
• Paragraphs have clear
topic sentences.
• Credit elements;
• Business risks
reflect a critical
assessment of the entity
that goes somewhat
beyond information
provided in the Annual
Report.
• Distinction elements;
• Business risks reflect a
critical assessment of
the entity that goes
extensively beyond
information provided in
the
Annual Report.
Section Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
5
Additional
possible
Key Audit
Matters
Elements of
pass grade are
not fulfilled
Matter is appropriate given
characteristics of the
business.
Audit tests are mostly
appropriate and correctly
characterised
Relevant account balances
and notes to the accounts are
cited
Keeps to page limit and is
free from typographical and
grammatical errors.
Pass elements; Audit
tests are appropriate
and correctly
characterised
Appropriate discussion
of how controls might
mitigate risk and how
these controls might be
tested.
Credit elements;
Relevant accounting
and auditing
standards are
specified, including
relevant section
numbers.
• Distinction elements;
• Matter and
discussion reflects a
critical assessment of
the entity that goes
beyond information
provided in the
Annual Report
Conclusion
Elements of
pass grade are
not fulfilled
Conclusion clearly states
whether or not the client is
appropriate for further
evaluation, based on logical
arguments.
Keeps to page limit and is
free from typographical and
grammatical errors.
Pass elements;
Conclusion explicitly
and appropriately refers
to previous assessments
of business risk and
inherent risk.
Paragraphs have clear
topic sentences.
Credit elements;
Conclusion also
considers
commercial
considerations – i.e.
the incumbent
auditor and level of
audit fees – to inform
recommendation.
• Distinction elements;
• Conclusion also
draws on industry
analysis to provide
guidance as to
whether other firms in
this industry may be
suitable candidates.
Reflection
Elements of
pass grade are
not fulfilled
Reflection considers
Brownlee’s 5 Tactics and the
extent to which they were
addressed during the
assignment.
Keeps to page limit and is
free from typographical and
grammatical errors.
Pass elements;
Reflection includes
conclusions as to what
actions can I take to
improve my own and the
team’s performance
going forward.
Credit elements;
Reflection includes
observations made
during the
assignment process
as well as after it was
completed.
• Distinction elements;
• Reflection includes
direct feedback from
other team members,
obtained during and
after the assignment.